Amador County - The first annual Coat-ed with Love coat drive was a huge success this year, with over 800 jackets collected for distribution to school age children and other local persons in need.

The idea for the charity event came from Wilma Fortich, marketing manager for ServPro Industries, Inc., who said she wanted to find a way for her and her company to give back to the community. Lori Halvorsen of the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency (ATCAA) enthusiastically agreed to distribute the coats to her agency’s clients.

“We did a pretty good job for our first time. The support from the community was just amazing,” said Karin Tippit, Office Manager for ServPro.

In order to collect as many coats as possible, special boxes were distributed to over 50 business locations throughout Amador County. In no time, the boxes began filling with all kinds of coats, jackets and sweatshirts.

In addition, Abra Teague, owner of the Jamba Juice in Martell, donated a free hot beverage for every coat collected.

The drive began September 20th and ended November 18th, but Tippit said coats are still coming in. She said the public is welcome to drop off any coats at the ServPro or ATCAA offices in Jackson.

For more information about the Coat-ed with Love project, please contact Wilma Fortich at 304-4908.

The coats will be distributed exclusively to people in Amador and Calaveras counties.

Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.